England has included in-form Leicester City midfielder James Maddison in its squad for the World Cup in Qatar, with forwards Callum Wilson and Marcus Rashford also selected.
Maddison was a surprising inclusion for England when coach Gareth Southgate named his 26-man squad on Thursday.
The Leicester playmaker has made only one appearance for his country, coming on as a substitute in a European Championship qualifier against Montenegro in 2019.
The call came after he scored six goals and provided four assists for Leicester this season.
Manchester United’s Rashford also found some goalscoring form this term, which persuaded Southgate to bring him back into the fold after he last appeared as a substitute in the Euro 2020 final last July.
Newcastle striker Wilson was included along with Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney missed out on selection with Wilson and Rashford preferred, after receiving his first call-up for Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany in September.
Southgate picked Kyle Walker, despite the Manchester City defender undergoing an operation on his groin last month, as well as club-mate Kalvin Phillips, who underwent shoulder surgery in September.
In the absence of injured Chelsea right back Reece James, Southgate picked Arsenal defender Ben White.
England will begin their World Cup group campaign against Iran on November 21 before facing the United States and Wales in Group B.
Your #ThreeLions squad for the @FIFAWorldCup! 🦁 pic.twitter.com/z6gVkRTlT3
— England (@England) November 10, 2022
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw (both Manchester United), Eric Dier (Tottenham), John Stones, Kyle Walker (both Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Conor Coady (Everton), Ben White (Arsenal), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher (both Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City)
Forwards: James Maddison (Leicester), Phil Foden, Jack Grealish (both Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Callum Wilson (Newcastle), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).
